Hakata is a city in the Eastern side of Japan located in the Fukuoka prefecture and they are famous for the Tonkotsu Ramen. Think broken pork bones simmering for days till a smooth and creamy white broth. The end result is a bowl of Ramen heaven for diners and we are here at Hakata Ikkousha to try it out.
Ikkousha Hakata operates in a small shop front in Tanjong Pagar plaza that is directly opposite the Orchid Hotel. From afar, the facade looks more like a Chinese restaurant with its red signboard.
Even with its inconspicuous stall front, the ramen joint has a strong following with the place full of customers when we were there for dinner. The restaurant seats around 30 people with individual tables and a large communal like table. Should there be a lack of table space, stools are placed at the stall front to facilitate the waiting process.
Ambient temperature is not coldest for a restaurant especially when one is going to be consuming something hot like a bowl of ramen. The communal table might also not be for everyone and a screen might be a good idea to provide the bit of separation and privacy from the diners opposite.
That being said, we are not going to a fine dining restaurant so expectations should be taper as such. There are plenty of positives to take from our visit. To accompany your ramen, you have free flow of sides dishes like the Spicy Takana (pickled mustard leaf), pickled ginger and hard boiled eggs. Nothing to fancy but hey, its free so nobody is complaining. I do enjoy the taste of the Takana with is crunchy textures.
Free flow of hard boiled eggs
There are plenty of sauces to choose from should you feel the need to enhance your food, i recommend going for the ramen sauce to give the flavour meter another boost.
Hakata style ramen is famous for their Tonkotsu variant of the dish and there are several good choices below. Should you feel extra peckish, other sides to consider are the Gyoza and Fried chicken.
I like it that patrons are given the option to customise the texture and saltiness of the noodles. We love this consideration as different people have different liking over the texture of their noodles.
Extra toppings is recommend for the best experience and I recommend going for the Special Topping that comes with 3 extra pieces of Cha shu and an Onsen egg.
The missus went with the God Fire level four which is certainly not for the faint hearted. It is a numbingly spicy bowl of noodles. The smoking hot bowl of noodles will leave your lips numb and the level of spiciness is similar to the popular Korean fire noodle.
If you will like to try the tonkotsu flavours of the broth then this will also not be for you as the strong taste of chilli will overpower most of the other flavours.
Do not attempt if you do not have a strong tummy. A special bowl that comes with the God fire tagline is presented to diners to remind them the experience they are going to have. The below bowl came with extra toppings of vegetables and an onsen flavoured egg. The noodles were springy and goes very well with the crunchiness of the various vegetables. No complaints about the Onsen eggs with the semi liquid yolk.
After trying a spoonful, the deliciously spicy bowl sends heat waves down my tummy and brows of sweat start to form. A cup of milk will work wonders to chill diners off the heat in my opinion. Something the restaurant can consider?
God Fire level 4 $13.50 + vegetable $2 and flavoured egg $2 topping
I went with the Bonito Ramen which had a amazing blend of Bonito fish stock and tonkotsu. The combination resulted in a creamy and full bodied stock that came with a myraid of flavours. I was in ramen heaven slurping up mouthful of bouncy noodles. The broth was so good that I just had to finish every single drop of it.
Bonito Ramen $13.50
For those whom are really hungry, tell the waitress "Kaedama onegaishimasu (another serving of noodles please). You will be served another helping of noodles at a pocket friendly price of $2. Do have plenty of broth left for that as this is not your Bak Kut Teh or steamboat shop where you can get free refills.
They also served Kirin beer on draft at a friendly price of $10/pint which I cannot resist.
Pint of Kirin Draft Beer $10
Service is decent at this Ikkousha Hakata and the food made our experience better. The air conditioning can be given a boost to improve the overall dining experience but the ramen is definitely worth coming for!
If you are in the vicinity, I will definitely recommend you to come try this out and do check out the promotions for being a member of J Passport. You can also check out J Passport's FB page and Instagram for updates on the awesome Japanese products and restaurants in Singapore.
If you are in the vicinity, I will definitely recommend you to come try this out and do check out the promotions for being a member of J Passport. You can also check out J Passport's FB page and Instagram for updates on the awesome Japanese products and restaurants in Singapore.
